International FET college collaboration for cutting-edge learning

False Bay College and the College of Cape Town, in collaboration with Haugaland Skole in Norway, will be hosting the second North South VCET ICT Conference at Spier Estate in Stellenbosch, Cape Town, from 9-11 October 2013.

The conference will bring together top international and local speakers to engage with the critical theme of Enhancing Classroom Performance Through Learning Technologies: E-learning trends, Strategies and Applications.

As the largest convergence of lecturers, academic managers, e-learning practitioners and specialists within the Vocational Continuing Education and Training (VCET) FET sector of its kind in Southern Africa, the conference will offer a unique platform for delegates to network and cultivate knowledge connections.

Guest speakers will include the Deputy Minister of Higher Education & Training, Mduduzi Manana (DHET) and Trudi van Wyk, Director of Career Development and Open Learning (DHET) together with other leading specialists in their field, such as Arthur Goldstuck from World Wide Worx, Duncan Greaves, CEO of TENET, and Mark Neville from the City of Cape Town's Broadband Initiative.

An international team of specialist speakers will present best practices from Blackburn College (UK), Kendall College (UK), Koning Willem College (Netherlands) and Haugaland College (Norway).

Exhibition and demonstration zones will accompany the programme of events, affording leading ICT and E-learning Practiotioners the chance to showcase their products and services.

The event's main sponsor, Pieter Bruwer, CEO of Future Managers, expressed his desire to contribute to the development of the FET sector by "giving back" to the system that supported his business over the years. He is an ardent proponent of the eBook and its role in learning in a digital era, and he envisages future collaboration with FET colleges in this regard.

The conference is endorsed by the Department of Higher Education & Training.

Speaking on their behalf is Chief Director of Programmes and Curriculum, Gerda Magnus, saying, "We are delighted to realise that the initiative affords delegates from the public FET sector a unique opportunity to learn from and network with their colleagues and peers, and that a potential exists for it to create knowledge communities for continued exchange of ideas."

The North South Initiative germinated from the partnership between False Bay College, the College of Cape Town and Haugaland Skole (Norway) after an agreement to collaborate on the development of E-learning and other educational technologies.

The 2012 inaugural conference was the launch pad for the partnership agreement signed on Tuesday 25 September 2012 between the college principals.

The success of the foundational event, that brought together participants from 28 FET colleges, was a benchmark for future collaborations. These initiatives are vital to assimilating a paradigm of E-learning to progressive classrooms within a digitally oriented world.

For more information, visit the conference website at www.northsouthconference.co.za or contact the event management team at az.ude.tcc@sllahd or az.gro.yabeslaf@noreht.nairam or via conference email at az.gro.yabeslaf@fnocsn.

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